As we become increasingly reliant on connected technology to run our homes and businesses, cybersecurity is the top concern for a lot of users. The threats IoT devices face are vastly different than the threats faced by traditional computers and require a different set of tools to defend their devices.
With a variety of IoT devices available each with its own operating system software and features it’s no wonder that malware attacks targeting these kinds of devices are on the rise. A lack of standard software could also make it difficult to create security tools for a variety of devices.
In 2016, threat actors employed an easy hack on IoT devices to launch one of the largest botnet attacks in the history of the internet that caused chaos on the Internet and making websites like The New York Times, Brian Krebs’s site, and French web host OVH inaccessible for hours. The attackers simply searched the Internet for default usernames and passwords for IoT devices, and then gathered an army of them to launch the DDoS attack.
IoT and antiviruses play a vital role in defending against these types of threats. This kind of security software should be more vigilant to be able to check how IoT devices communicate with each other as well as with the outside world. It should also maintain solid password practices, 2-factor authentication, and current patching. In conjunction with other security options such as these, they form an effective defense against IoT threats.